Finding a target can be issue when it comes to apartment shopping.

What do you do when you reach someone who's not to be shopped and you can't find the target any time you call. The person sitting on the other side know they are being shopped and this kind of behavior that MS indulge in would be considered fishy (avoid the talk with the associate who is not a target).

On top of that we could be doing something else which would be more productive. You put in time on your calendar for the apartment shops and all of a sudden there is hole in your calendar which could be used for something else. How do you handle these issues.

I've just let the scheduler know I could never get the target on the line. The shop was eventually cancelled and I no longer apply for such a shop. It's just too aggravating.

This is EXACTLY why I don't do Targeted Apartment Shops!

Have someone engage the wrong agent on the phone while you call again. If that didn't work I would just ask for the target before I'd take a big hole in my schedule.

There are many targeted shops where you are not allowed to ask for the target - ever. And rental offices where there is only one person there at a time, and never the right one. I stopped doing targetted apartment shops. Some shoppers thrive on targetted apartment shops. Some like car shops. Some like calling funeral homes. Personally, I like banks. I can even do targeted financial reps in banks, but I want no part of targeted apartment shops.

@Michael C wrote:

Have someone engage the wrong agent on the phone while you call again. If that didn't work I would just ask for the target before I'd take a big hole in my schedule.

That's why I will never do these again. I once went thru hell to get an appointment with my target, made an appointment, showed up and she'd called in sick. I HAD to go thru with seeing the apartment at that point, there was simply no way I could get out of it. So no pay for all that hassle.

I'll do non-targeted shops, but no more targeted.

I've only done two targeted apartment shops. They were both up against deadline. The one target could not be found after four tries. The scheduler called for me, and said she was an old friend of the target's family and was wondering how she could reach the target. She then gave me the day and time to call. Worked perfectly.

When I have a target shop and get someone else on the line, I usually start off with: "What time do you close and are you open on weekends?" That way if they try to reel me in, I stop them and say I am just trying to get a few places lined up for a friend who is moving here. Then I ask if my friend needs to set an appointment first. If they say they should or it's recommended, I tell them: "I will get them to call, since I am not sure what time, etc., is best for them, should they ask for you?" Then I ask for their name like I never heard it at the outset if they mentioned it. Sometimes they say: "They can ask for me or so and so, etc." Then I have a clue who is there for the day. If I can pull it off, I sometimes say: "Oh good, are you two the only ones and do you go to lunch at a certain time?" Sometimes they say: "No, so and so is also here." Now, if none of those names I got are my target, I go a step further and ask: "Do you think it's better to look on the weekend or weekday?" "Will you guys be there this weekend?" Many times that person tells me either they will be the only one there this weekend or Saturday, or they say the name of my target and sometimes say 'she always works the weekends'. These questions have worked for me about 99% of the time. So, if I find out the target is there on the weekend only, for instance, and the shop is for M-F, only, that helps me when I communicate with the scheduler. But if I could not get any clue about my target from all those questions, I let my scheduler know all this, too, and then I usually get the okay to ask for my target by name. I have never missed a target doing this, with the exception of finding out they do not work there anymore. I hate having my day tied up looking for those targets, so when I ask those questions I usually get to plan my day better. I also have made those calls and had someone call at the same time and ask for my target by name and have found out they are there or do not work there anymore, or what day they will be there.

purpleice you are brilliant!! I love your plan! I never do targeted shops because the stress just isn't worth it. Unless it's a video shop where they know the target is in and you still receive reasonable compensation if you get there and the target isn't there.

Thank you jpgilham! One other thing I have noticed, and it may be purely coincidental, but when there are two or three shops available at the same property and they are all target shops... I check all the names of the people listed on each one. If I have time, I look up the property number online, so not to use the one the MSC wants us to use, and I quickly call it and see who answers. If one of those names answers, I act like I got the wrong number, 'sorry, thought I was calling the dentist'...then quickly assign myself the shop and call again and get my target. If I do not have time to do all that, but I am trying to get more shops for the week, I still look at those names and pick the one that I think will be working when I expect to try to do the shop. What I mean is, unless the male name happens to be the manager, I have found that most men do not work the early hours. A few do, but most do not and so I find them on the afternoons and weekends. If I choose the male name, I am usually considering this one because that shop will fall into my afternoon time territory or if I had decided to work a weekend. This tends to be true of the female name that has no last name shown. She usually is new and part time, so she has those hours most of the time, as well. So if I need to do that shop in the earlier part of the day, I will choose the female with the full name and usually get her at that time. She also seems to take the later lunch, and I will miss her onsite, unless I make my appointment with her early. I guess she figures her day is done when her part time agents get there, so she takes her lunch and makes them get all the calls until closing. These are just small things I have noticed over the years and they work for me. It could be a coincidence, but it seems to work that way for me.

Haha purpleicee maybe you could teach the schedulers how to conduct these shops